Microstructures are typically used on an aircraft to alter flight characteristics and/or dynamics of the aircraft. In particular, microstructures such as riblets are used on surfaces of an aircraft wing, a fin or a fuselage to reduce drag and/or a drag coefficient of the aircraft, which can result in overall fuel savings and/or reduction in carbon-dioxide emissions, etc. However, riblets and other microstructures can also cause or prevent certain optical/aesthetic/visual effects including high reflectivity, directional reflectiveness, and/or other potential effects to the aesthetics of the aircraft based on their geometry. High reflectivity and the associated directional reflectiveness is often referred to as glint, which can affect the visibility and/or an aesthetic look of an aircraft. Riblets may cause glint in atypical directions due to their geometries, shapes and/or features in comparison to typical aircraft surfaces (e.g., wing surfaces, fuselage surfaces, etc.).
In some situations, reflectivity and/or the overall appearance of the aircraft surfaces may be controlled by adjusting the reflectivity and/or reflection angles from different portions of the aircraft surfaces. Some known solutions to affect the appearance of the aircraft surfaces include low reflectivity optical coatings such as a flat black paint or multilayer film coatings. Other known solutions to alter the reflectivity and/or the appearance of the aircraft include decals, but applying these to aerodynamic surfaces such as riblets can have negative impacts on the aerodynamic properties of the riblets and, thus, may reduce the riblet effectiveness.